What is actually in honey
A full compositional breakdown, with an honest account of which components matter nutritionally and which are present in quantities too small to do anything.
The composition
| Component | Typical proportion | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fructose | ≈ 38% | The sweeter of the two main sugars; resists crystallisation |
| Glucose | ≈ 31% | Crystallises out; drives granulation |
| Water | 15-20% | Above about 20% the honey can ferment |
| Maltose and other disaccharides | ≈ 7% | Formed during ripening |
| Sucrose | ≈ 1% | Most has been split by invertase; a high figure suggests immature honey or feeding |
| Higher sugars | ≈ 1.5% | Substantially higher in honeydew honeys |
| Organic acids | ≈ 0.5% | Mainly gluconic acid; the source of honey's pH 3.5-4.5 |
| Minerals (ash) | 0.1-1% | Higher in dark and honeydew honeys; measured as conductivity |
| Proteins, enzymes, amino acids | ≈ 0.3% | Invertase, diastase, glucose oxidase |
| Phenolics, flavonoids, volatiles | Trace | Where colour, aroma and antioxidant activity come from |
Reading that table honestly
About 82% of honey is sugar and about 17% is water. That leaves roughly 1% for everything else — every enzyme, every mineral, every phenolic compound, every aroma molecule. That 1% is where all the interest is, and it is also why the nutritional claims built on it do not hold up: a 21 kcal teaspoon of honey contains about 0.07 g of everything that is not sugar or water.
Glycaemic index
Honey's glycaemic index varies widely by type — roughly 35 to 75 — because it depends on the fructose-to-glucose ratio, and that ratio varies. Fructose has a much lower glycaemic index than glucose, so fructose-dominant honeys such as acacia sit lower and glucose-dominant ones such as rapeseed sit at or above table sugar.
This means a general statement about honey's glycaemic index is close to meaningless, and it means anyone managing blood glucose should treat honey as a sugar rather than as an alternative to one. High fructose intake carries its own metabolic considerations at high consumption levels, which is a reason not to read the lower glycaemic index as straightforwardly good.
Sources
- Composition of American Honeys and related analytical work — United States Department of Agriculture · Peer-reviewed article
- Standard for Honey (CXS 12-1981) — Codex Alimentarius Commission, FAO/WHO (1981) · Standards document Link
- Guideline: Sugars intake for adults and children — World Health Organization (2015) · Clinical guidance
How sources are selected and weighted is set out in the sources and evidence policy.
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Tools that use this
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- Flavour selector
I like this taste — which honeys have it?
- Honey comparison
How do these honeys actually differ, beyond colour?